Hearing loss – helping a loved one

If you are reading this column it is because you suspect that someone you care about might have a hearing loss. And you want to help. Hearing is an easy thing to take for granted.

Initially, you may have a giggle at their misunderstanding of words or the bizarre interpretations they come up with, but after a while the daily miscommunication will lead to concern and frustration of having to repeat yourself. Age-related hearing loss generally occurs gradually. As a result, it is often family and friends who are the first to notice the problem.

Things are not nearly as easy with a hearing loss. It is difficult to converse in a crowded room or over the phone. It is not that things are not always loud enough, but that they are not clear enough. People often claim that there would not be a problem if others would just stop mumbling. Sounds fade so gradually that they can disappear unnoticed, for example when the birds stop chirping.

Left untreated, hearing loss can affect relationships between the person affected and their family and friends, quietly eroding their quality of life. That is why it is important to motivate your loved one to get their hearing tested and to take the necessary action, and to learn how you can help with any communication difficulties.

In my practice in Ipswich we often have children contacting us who are concerned about their parents or, as they’ve been trying to call them on the telephone all day and they don’t answer, or others who have broken into their parents’ house after repeatedly knocking on the door, only to find them blissfully unaware in the back garden.

Quite often, because of the stigma attached to hearing loss, elderly parents don’t respond to initial prompts from their children to have their hearing tested.

Why is there so much resistance?

The main reason is denial. Many older adults just don’t think they have a problem.

We know from research that it takes people with hearing loss 5 to 10 years before they have their hearing tested, and more than four million people in the UK who would benefit from wearing hearing aids, don’t have one.

Tips to convince loved ones to have their hearing checked

• Talk to them about the benefits of seeking help and the things they are missing out on, such as social occasions or physical activities.
• Reassure them that modern devices are small, discreet and the technology is simple and automatic.
• Discuss the dangers of undiagnosed hearing loss—for instance, not being able to hear properly while driving, or the simple fact that leaving it untreated will only make it worsen quicker.

For more information on hearing loss or to book a hearing test, either visit www.hearingcarecentre.co.uk or call 01473 230330.